The talk after the Orlando Magic's Game 1 victory was how much the Magic were bracing for the Detroit Pistons' response.
Everyone expected the Pistons to look like the 1-seed they had earned in Game 2. The series would be all about how the Magic responded to that inevitable pressure.
The Magic handled it decently in the first half. But the Pistons got their lone win of this series so far thanks to an intense and frenzied defensive effort in Game 2, going on a 30-3 run to win the game in the third quarter.
The feeling in the locker room after the game was less that they got blitzed and more that they let go of the rope for those eight minutes. The Magic felt confident they could hang and beat the Pistons when they got to their home floor.
They proved that in Game 3. And now they brace again for the Pistons to respond.
It is no surprise what this game will be like.
"There's not going to be a ton of surprises tonight," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Monday. "They are going to try to do what they do. We're going to try to do what we do. Whoever comes out with the fire and the poise is probably going to win."
Orlando has seen the kind of punch and response Detroit will throw. The team knows the intensity that it will bring. Just as the Pistons and Magic understand each other's sets.
As the series moves to its second half, it is less about the Xs and Os or any big adjustments. Both of these teams have proven what they can do against the other.
Now, the series becomes about will, execution and shot-making. There are indeed no surprises.
Familiarity takes over
The trick of a Playoff series is how deeply everyone knows each other throughout the series.
Being able to pin down one opponent and focusing on everything is the biggest challenge of the Playoffs. Every team gets to dive deeper into the details and what the others do.
The biggest question the Playoffs always ask teams and the star players is: What do you do when the opponent knows exactly what is coming their way?
There is not a lot to do but just will your way to victory. The big adjustments are done.
"There's not significant adjustments, there are minor things here and there," coach Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Monday. "We know what punches they are going to throw, they know what punches we're going to throw. It's just a matter of how you execute and how you counter at the right time. Can you make those runs at the right time and stop those runs at the right time?"
That is what happened in Game 3.
The Magic gave up a big run from Cade Cunningham -- scoring 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter -- to give away the lead. But they responded with a 9-0 run to close the game and win it.
They steadied their defense and made the plays to win the first clutch game of this series.
The game got physical too with a few pull-aparts, flagrant fouls and technical fouls throughout the game. Everyone knew this would be a physical series. And that physicality is certainly bowling over.
"I think once you get here at Game 4, I think that's when both teams start to get tired of each other," Paolo Banchero said after shootaround Monday. "That leads to more physical basketball. Probably more the refs are going to let go away. You just need to be prepared for the atmosphere and bring the right energy as a group. i think everybody understands that and knows there is a lot of basketball left to be played."
The pressure is increasing too.
Both teams will need to play with desperation. And the game will come down to who digs out the offensive rebound, recovers that loose ball, hits the key shot or gets that big turnover.
"I think that was the big focus was just our mentality," Desmond Bane said after shootaround Monday. "Understanding what is at stake, how big of a game it is for both of us and how bad we want to protect homecourt. Talk about the necessary adjustments, possible adjustments from them. We feel extremely prepared."
It is no longer the big things that will determine who wins or loses.
A repeat of Game 2
That puts the focus on Game 4 and what the teams expect to happen.
The Orlando Magic hold a 2-1 series lead. A 3-1 lead is very different than a 2-2 tie in the series. Game 4 is big for both teams as the Detroit Pistons try to retake control and shift the narrative that has followed them through three often frustrating games.
Orlando has now seen what Detroit's physical response feels like. And that leaves the team better prepared for Monday's Game 4.
"I think what we learned from Game 2 is you can't let your guard down and can't relax at any point in the game," Paolo Banchero said after shootaround Monday. "We have to know they are going to come out with a heightened level of energy and effort and desperation. We need to have the same amount, if not more."
Desmond Bane said the Pistons were the aggressors in Game 2. They expect them to be that physical and aggressive. How they handle that aggression will determine whether the Magic can win Game 4 and take firm control.
Everyone knows that the team that wins the physical battles on the glass and in the paint will likely be the one to win the game.
Like before Game 2, Orlando is hoping to match and exceed that physicality. That is part of the tug-of-war that is this series.
"Knowing exactly how they are going to come out," Jamahl Mosley said after shootaround Monday. "There is going to be a level of aggression, a level of physicality and a level of toughness. Start off aggressive right away. Being able to exceed that level of physicality, that level of toughness, that level of aggression. We have to come out and be ready to throw the first punch."
Everything comes down to who has the will to push through all this physicality and all of this fight.
That is what this series has always been about. These two teams know each other well.
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